North Andover boys spring track defends state relay title with all-around team effort

Saturday

May 24, 2014 at 5:36 PMMay 24, 2014 at 5:36 PM

By Joe McConnelljmcconnell@wickedlocal.com

It was a big week for the North Andover High School boys spring track team.The Knights finished first during the MSTCA Division 2 State Relay Meet in Walpole last weekend, collecting 65 points. Central Catholic was second with 59 points, Woburn third with 54 and North Attleboro fourth with 52."We had a good day on the track, but a very strong day in the field events to capture this title for the second year in a row," coach Steve Nugent said."To me, this is the biggest meet of the year. To win this meet, a team needs about 30 [athletes] contributing outstanding performances in several different areas, and that is exactly what we got," added Nugent."Our kids have been talking about this meet for the past 12 months, so we knew exactly what to expect. It didn’t look good for a while. We trailed Woburn by 15 points at the end of the running events, and it looked like they earned first in the high jump — all three of their jumpers cleared six-feet. However James Testa also cleared six-feet with no misses, and that broke the tie, earning us 10 points and Woburn 8, and the comeback was on."We then earned 18 points in the throwing events, and another six in the triple jump to seal the deal. When it comes to coaching track, this meet, and last year’s meet are at the top of my list for moments I will never forget it. It was great seeing all of our guys rooting each other on in their individual events. We entered the last event leading by one over Central Catholic and four over Woburn, and our entire team watched our triple jumpers — Staudt, Wolfgang and Manteiga — seal the win and the state championship."Coach Dan Wrigley put together two very competitive pole vault relay teams. They earned our team 10 big points [last] Thursday night, a few days before the other 14 events would take place. It was nice to start the meet on Sunday with 10 points in our back pocket."Coach Jeff Hutton had his throwers moving and grooving. They broke two very old school records, and earned our team 18 points with a victory in the discus — by over 50 feet — and a second place in the shotput."Coach Dana Burbank had his jumpers peaking at exactly the right moment, when all three jumped six-feet to set a school record, and earned us a big 10 points with a first place finish."Coach Maggi Murray’s distance crew earned our team 17 huge points on the track with solid showings in the distance medley, sprint medley, 4 by 800 relay and the 4 by one-mile relay."Coach Peter Marfione’s triple jumpers had to come up clutch in the final event of the day, and they didn’t disappoint, earning a third place finish and sealing the victory for our team."The following Top 6 state relay finishers earned points for the team:Pole Vault: Erick Duffy, Kyle Salois and Owen Mysliwy (29-6.25, third)Pole Vault: David Issenberg, Zach Frahlich and Joe Staudt (29-0.5, fourth)Triple Jump: Joe Staudt, Patrick Wolfgang and Matt Manteiga (121-10.75, third)High Jump: James Testa, Wynn Bourassa and Ian Burns (18-0, first, a new school record)Discus: Jason Rice, Yanni Falaras and Brian Davis (411-11, first, a new school record)Shotput: Yanni Falaras, Jason Rice and Brian Davis (133-6, second, a new school record)110-meter hurdles: Patrick Wolfgang, Erick Duffy, Ben Gleed and Joe Staudt (1:08.11, fourth)4 by 800: Derek Zahoruiko, Alan Martinez, Chris Dalke and Chris Lord (8:24.64, sixth)Sprint Medley: Dan Marino, Danny Waddell, Peter Logan and Joe Mosby (3:38.72, fourth)Distance Medley: Marty Conrad, Joe Mosby, Dan Marino and Zach Frahlich (10:59.13, third)4 by One-Mile: Marty Conrad, Joe McManus, Chris Lord and Zach Frahlich (18:43.81, third)